https://groundviews.org/2014/07/02/the-aluthgama-atrocities-lessons-for-religion-engagement-or-estrangement/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-aluthgama-atrocities-lessons-for-religion-engagement-or-estrangement Journalism for Citizens Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:08:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 https://groundviews.org/2014/07/02/the-aluthgama-atrocities-lessons-for-religion-engagement-or-estrangement/#comment-57909 Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:08:00 +0000 http://groundviews.org/?p=15942#comment-57909 The Bishop must not lose sight of the fact that the Buddhists have reason to be apprehensive, and hence it is easy for them to be aroused into mindless deeds by those who are so minded.. A Christian Bishop has accused them of genocide against the Tamils attempting to pit the Christians against them. The Muslims have attempted to forcibly encroach on Buddhists temple properties and recent reports of Taaliban activity (confirmed by both India and Interpol) cannot be pooh poohed either. The happenings in the Middle East are all too visible, and such internecine conflict within Islam has already come to Sri Lanka. The government needs to act with vigour to alleviate the apprehension among the Buddhists. .

]]> https://groundviews.org/2014/07/02/the-aluthgama-atrocities-lessons-for-religion-engagement-or-estrangement/#comment-57904 Thu, 03 Jul 2014 23:38:00 +0000 http://groundviews.org/?p=15942#comment-57904 Reverend Bishop has shed a lot of wisdom into this issue. We
are reaping the consequences of a long culture of communal party politics. This
is not unique to Sri Lanka. This is very common in most countries that
frequently witness fights between the Government and sections of the
citizenry. So, we the people cannot wash our hands by putting the blame on some
political party. We are the people who sustain tribalistic political forces
that provide opportunities for politicians to divide and rule. Even the so called
Westernized JR Jayawardane who grew up in Colombo and educated in Western settings,
didn’t go to challenge Sinhala-Buddhist tribalism because it was too deeply rooted among the majority that they do not recognize their covert approval of violence against other communities. So, he bowed down to it, and his
comments after the 1983 riots clearly indicate that he just entertained the
tribal hatred of the majority. Some minority communities too nurtured similar
sentiments among themselves, giving opportunities for similar politicians to
emerge from them. The result was a perfect tribalistic storm, fought under
different banners like “liberation struggle”, “fighting terrorism”, etc. So, lets not
think that the absence of BBS or LTTE, or any other politicians/Government officers who
are suspected to be aiding these extremist groups, will solve the problem. The
problem, according to Buddhism is deep rooted in our “Loba”, “Dvesha”, and “Moha”
(greed, hatred, and delusion). So, we as individuals have to question
ourselves and see these defilements within ourselves, to let go of tribal
paranoia, and embrace humanity as humanity. Therefore, it is so encouraging to
see this kind of broadly thought out articles coming from religious leaders in
Sri Lanka.

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